Cancelled Classes Create ConfusionESU Needs Better Communication

ESU has always been known for its bad weather days, but this winter season seems to be setting a new standard for how this inclement weather should be dealt with.

As of today, the campus has yet to see a snow day—a fact that leaves us academically relieved, but leaves our sleep schedules disappointed.

With each passing week, the weather channel seems to mention a new potential storm, and be it snow, rain or ice, ESU students always find a way to see this potential weather as a beacon of hope to a cancelled class, or even a closed campus.

But as some nasty bouts of weather have afflicted the campus with little administrative action done to ease the lives both resident and commuting students, the question has to be asked: are the right calls being made when it comes to the weather?

Students and professors alike are finding the delays that the delays being made for the weather are severely lacking in clarification.

“I did receive a number of emails from students who indicated their confusion about the delay for 9:30-10:45 a.m. class,” says Dr. S. H. Pazaki, a professor of sociology.

“Our class met at 10 a.m. with only 14 students out of 45. It seemed that some faculty and students interpreted the delay as the cancellation of 9:30-10:45 block of classes,” he continues.

Students have also shared some particular grievances with the current system ESU has in place of dealing with inclement weather.

“The response was very frustrating,” states Kendrick Diaz, a senior, “If ESU would have updated their website or sent out the alert earlier, I would have been sleeping and not trying to risk my life trying to get to my 8 a.m., only to discover that it’s canceled. It should have been done a day in advance.”

Some students, however, felt differently about the calls made for the recent weather.

“The delay was a good call because the weather in the morning was pretty rough, but thankfully it cleared it up later in the afternoon,” says freshman Joel Crespo. Other students have shared similar reactions.

“I enjoy my classes as much as I do sleeping in, so I don’t care about which one I do in the morning,” remarks sophomore James Kooistra.

“When I used to live in Tobyhanna, the commute sucked for me in the winter. When it was snowing there, it was always raining on campus. I missed classes and had to send picture proof to some of my professors. It was a mess. Needless to say, I’m no longer a fan of winter,” said senior Amy Lukac.

Despite the variance in views between the faculty and student body, a need still remains for better communication from the school administration when it comes to addressing the current and future weather scenarios of the campus.